Steam iron



Dec. 22, 1953 s. R. BRICKER 53, 0

7 STEAM IRON Filed Aug. 21, 1951 v I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.|.

INVENTOR Samuel R. Bricker ATTORNEY Dec. 22, 1953 Filed Aug. 21, 1951 EAM DRY F 1.

S. R. BRICKER STEAM IRON 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Samuel R. Bricker ATTORNEY Dec. 22, 1953 sJR. BRICKER STEAM IRON Filed Aug. 21, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l gmgses: I,

INVENTOR Samuel R. Bricker ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 22, 1953 UNIT ED? STATES-1 OFFICE STEAM IRON Samuel R. B'ricker, S Westinghouse Electri burgh, Pa; a corporation helby, Ohio, assignorto c Corporation, East Pitts-' of Pennsylvania Application August 21, 1951, Serial No. 242,883 1 Claims.

reservoir to the steam generating chamber.

' structure descr1bed and erial No. 236,625, of B. F. Parr, filed July 13, 195i, and entitled Steam Iron, there is an inter-connection between the water valve for admitting water to the steam generating chamber and the fill cap for admittingwater to the water tank of the iron. As further described in that application, the inter-connection is so arranged that when the fill cap is adjusted to a first or "fill position, the valve is in the off position, thereby preventing water from flowing into-the steam generating chamber and flooding thesame While water is being admitted to the tank. The fill cap is also adjustable to a second or steam position in which the valve is in the openposition for admitting water into the steam generating chamber while the fill opening to the tank is closed.

It is an object ofeme claimed in applic this invention to provide a steam iron-of the flash type, in which the fill and valvearrangement is provided with an additional setting-by which the steam iron may he condn tioned for dry ironing, and in which the valve is in the.off position and the filling means to the tank is closed.

It is a further object to provide a fill and valve arrangement having a vent which communicates with the tank at all times regardless of the setting'of the fill cap.

Another object of the inv any steam or vapor the vent that vented fromthe tank will be expelled 1n a user.

tion away from the handof the g A stillfurther object is to provide an improved fill. and valve arrangement which maybe manufactured simply, expeditiously, and at low cost; by modern manufacturing methods.

These and other objects are effected by 'my invention as will beapparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a ention is to so arrange which may be direce .flash type steam iron incorporating my invention, the combination ml and valve-arrangement and other associated portions being shown in section;

Fig. 2.is-a plan showingthe combination fill and valve arrangement in the dry? position;

Fig. 3 is a developed view of a circular section taken on line IlI-III of Fig. 2, the starting point being indicated by the arrow heads;

Fig. 4 is a plan, with portions out clarity, showingthe combination fill andvalve arrangement in the fill position;

Fig. 5 is a'developed View of a circular section taken on line VV on Fig. being'indicated by the arrow heads;

rating the away for .60 4', thestarting point (CI. 38-77) Y 2 i Fig.- 6- is a section taken on 1ine .VI--VI of. Fig. 4;

Fig.- '7 is a'plan, with portions cut'away'for-I. clarity, showing-the combination fill andvalve arrangement in the-steam position;

Fig. 3 isadeveloped view of a circularsection taken on line VIII-V121 of Fig. 7,-the starting point being indicated: by the arrowheadsp Fig; 9 is a section taken on line IX--IX of- Fig. 7; and

Fig.- 10 is a section Referring to the draw Fig. 1, there is shown a taken on line X-Xof 6.

ings in detail, especially n electricsteam iron of the flash type, havingv a soleplate ID; a watertank l2 disposed above the-s0lep1ate, a shell l4 and a--- manipulating handle i 5 anchored to-the-she1-l- 14$- The soleplate H) is provided -with I a steame generatingchamber- It -which is connected-by. passages Zllto a pluralityof steam exhaust aperturesv 22 (only one-shown) directed downwardly through the soleplate. A cover plate 14- is clamped to the upper surface of the soleplateand serves asthe upperwa-llof the steam-generating" chamber l3 and the-passages heating element 26,- preferably ofthe sheathed type, is embedded in the soleplate' I llandserves to heat the solepl ate for steam or dry pressing .tex tiles, asis well understood inthe art. I The rtemperatureof the soleplate-may be-adjusted bya rotatable knob 21 disposed below-themanipu-w lating. handle and connected to athermostat-=- (not shown),

The-water tanl--l stantial-ly from the and is providedat proved combination- 'fill merit generally designat The tank is :provided with a -fill-member:.30-0f inverted thimble shape soldered theretoand ex-i tending upwardly through the shell I4; The'tank I2 is clamped-tothe-coverplate -24"by'a threaded ferrule 3i-passing through th'e'lowerend of the fill member 30- and-received in a threadedhole in the cover plate.

The threaded ferrule 34 forms part of avalve structure and has an axially disposedbore'38 whichis beveled at its lower end to provide" as valve seat 39. Below the valve seat'thereisprovided a valve orifice I 40: An axially movable" valve sterner for controlling the valve orifice is received within the bore Bit-and cooperates with the valve seat 39 and the orifice to form thewater-valve. A-front slot- 44is providedin the fill member 3!! and a transverse bore lfiis-provided in the ferrule 34. Thus, when the valve stem 42 is raised, water will flow from the tank 12 through the slot 44 intothe -fi-ll memberill; and through the bore 46 and the valve orifice ,40' to the steam-generatingchamber 18.

The fill and valve arrangement 28 (referring toFigs. 2, 3 and 6, for example) further includesv a rotatable fillcap 48 supported on'the fill. mem- 2 extends,;-horizonta=l-ly subfront to therear ofthe irorr V the front endwith 'my im and water valvearrangeed; 28:

20.: Anelectrica-l 3 her 30. The fill cap 48 includes a bottom wall 49 which is encompassed by an upwardly extending annular wall 58 having an upwardly flared inner surface thereby forming a top opening recess 66, at least the upper portion of which may be referred to as being of funnel shape, for receiving water that is poured into it from above. The bottom wall is provided with an arcuate port 52. The outer surface of the fill cap is ribbed to provide a finger gripping portion 53. Between the fill cap 48 and the fill member there is interposed a disc 54 which is clamped against the fill member by a threaded ring 56 and is held against turning by an indentation 57 received in a notch in the fill member 30. The ring 56 further serves to hold the shell I4 against the soleplate I0 and to this end an annular spring washer 59 is interposed between the shell and the ring. The disc 54 has an arcuate port 58 of substantially larger angular extent than the port 52. The fill cap 48 is provided with a depending skirt portion '60 defining a bore within which the ring 56 is received. Thus, the ring 56 serves as a bearing during rotation of the fill cap 48. A venting aperture 6I is provided in the fill cap and extends horizontally through the wall and downwardly through the bottom wall 49 into registry with the stationary port 58. The port 58 extends through an angle which is larger than the angle of rotation of the fill cap, thereby permitting the aperture 6| to register with the port 58, regardless of the position of the fill cap.

As thus far described, it may be seen that by rotating the fill cap 48, the port 58.may be moved into or out of registry with the stationary port 58, and the tank is vented to the atmosphere at all times through the aperture M.

The valve stem 42 is biased downwardly toward closed position by a helical spring 62. As shown in Fig. 10, the upper portion of the valve stem is of square cross section and passes through a square opening 63 provided in the disc 54, which opening prevents rotation of the valve stem. A circular cover member 64 is keyed to the upper end of the valve stem 42 and is held thereon by an acorn nut 65. The cover member '64 is centrally disposed in the recess 66 in the fill cap 48 and is provided on its under side with a radial finger 61. The fill cap is provided with a cam portion 68 adapted to be rotated into engagement and out of engagement with the finger 6'! to thereby raise the valve stem 42 against the bias of the spring 62.

The fill cap 48 is inscribed with appropriate indi-cia 69 such as fill, "dry and steam, while the cover member may be provided with a dart II to indicate the position of the fill and valve arrangement 28.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the fill and valve arrangement 28 is'set in the dry position. In this position the steam iron may be used in the manner of a conventional sadiron. The developed view shown in Fig. 3 somewhat, schematically portrays the position of the various parts previously described. With the fill cap adjusted to the dry position, the finger 61 is out of engagement with the cam portion 68 and the valve stem is in its lower position, closing the orifice 40 and shutting off fiow of water to the steam generating chamber I8. The port 52 is out of registry with the stationary port 58, thereby clos-,

ing the fill opening and preventing hot vapors, which may be generated in the tank, from escaping upwardly through the recess 66 in the fill cap. A spring member I2, of weaker compressive strength than the spring 62, is interposed between the fill cap 48 and the cover member 64 to bias the fill cap against the disc 54 and thereby prevent vapor leakage between the fill cap and the disc. However, generated vapor may escape through the venting aperture 6I provided in the side of the fill cap.

Although as mentioned above, the valve stem 42 is keyed to the cover member 64, the valve stem is axially slidable within the cover member. As shown in Figs. 2 and 6, for example, the cover member 64 is provided with a recess 73 of hexagonal outline within which is received the hexagonal portion of the acorn nut 65. The acorn nut is provided with the usual female threaded portion I4, however, the threaded portion is of such a depth that the male threaded portion of the valve stem 42 does not bottom therein and will leave a space 15 at the upper end of the threaded portion (4. With this arrangement the efiective axial length of the valve stem 42 is adjustable to ensure that the valve seat 39 will be closed when the finger 6? is out of engagement with the cam portion 68 and the valve stem is in its lower position. This adjustment may be effected during the manufacture of the iron and once set, need not be adjusted thereafter.

To facilitate adjustment of the valve stem 42, the acorn nut is provided with a peripheral groove I6 which provides a grip for lifting of the acorn nut and the valve stem to a height sufficiently above the cover member 64 to permit rotation of the acorn nut. The acorn nut may be then released and lowered into the recess 73 which recess locks the nut against rotation. In operation, the bias of the spring 62 is sufficient to maintain the acorn nut within the recess. With this arrangement, dimensional variations in manufacture of the various parts of the fill and valve arrangement are compensated for and proper seating of the valve stem 42 on the valve seat 39 is assured. Clockwise rotation of the acorn nut, as seen in Fig. 2, will shorten the effective length of the valve stem, while counterclockwise rotation will lengthen the effective length of the valve stem.

As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the fill cap is ad justed to the fill position. In this position the water tank I2 may be filled at any time that it is desired, whether the device is hot or cold. To set the fill and valve arrangement 26 to the fill position, the fill cap 48 is rotated counterclockwise to the position shown in Fig. 4, in which the fill indicium is in registry with the dart II. Further counterclockwise movement of the fill cap is prevented by a rib 11 provided on the under side of the cover member 64 in the path of the cam 68 and abutted thereby. The port 52 is in registry with the stationary port 58, permitting water to flow around the cover member 64, down the recess 66 through the ports 52 and 58 into the fill member 36 and through the slot 44 into the tank I2. The water will fill the tank and the fill member to the same level, since communication between the tank and fill member is unrestricted by the slot 44. The venting aperture 6| is in registry with the stationary port 58, thereby permitting the displaced air from the water tank to escape unimpeded. The finger 67 is still out of contact with the cam 68, and the valve stem 42 is in its lower position, closing the valve orifice 60. Since the valve orifice 40 is closed, water is prevented from flowing into the steam generating chamber I 8 when the fill cap is in the fill position.

Figs. '7, 8 and '9 show the fill and valve arrangement 28 adjusted to the steam position. This position is attained by rotating the fill cap 48 clockwise to the position shown in Fig. '7 in. which position the steam indicium is in registry with the dart H. In this position, the finger 61 is engaged and lifted by the cam 68, raising the valve stem 42 to open the valve orifice 40. The water will flow through the ferrule 34 via the transverse bore 46, the axial bore 38 and the valve orifice 40, into the steam generating chamber l8 where it is quickly converted into steam by the heat from the adjacent heating element 26. The steam thus generated will flow through the steam passages to the steam exhaust apertures 22 and be emitted at the bottom of the soleplate III for steaming textile articles being pressed.

The fill cap is indexed in the steam position by a radial groove 18 provided at the upper portion of the cam 68 and adapted to receive the finger 61. The port 52 is out of registry with the stationary port 58, thereby preventing egress of hot vapors through the fill cap to the front portion of the manipulating handle it and avoiding the danger of scalding the users hand. The venting aperture 6| is in registry with the stationary port 58, thereby permitting the venting of such vapors in a harmless manner through the side of the fill cap.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided an improved fill and valve arrangement for a steam iron which may be expeditiously manufactured at reasonable cost by modern manufacturing methods.

It will also be noted that with this arrangement the tank is vented to the atmosphere at all times regardless of the setting of the knob and that such venting means is arranged in a manner to be inconspicuous. Also, vapor vented will be directed away from the hand of the user, thereby eliminating the danger of scalding.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A flash type steam iron having a soleplate, a steam generating chamber, means for heating said soleplate and said steam generating chamber, a water tank disposed above said soleplate, a valve for controlling flow of water from said water tank to said steam generating chamber for steaming purposes, and filling means for said tank, said filling means including a rotatable fill cap having a port and a stationary member having a port in communication with said tank, said valve being movable axially from a closed position to an open position, means including a cam and a follower operable by rotation of said fill cap to move said valve to the open position, said fill cap being rotatable to a first or fill position, a second or dry position and a third or steam position, said ports in said fill cap and said stationary member being of such angular extent and being so angularly related to each other and said cam being of such shape and being so angularly related to said follower that, when said fill cap is in said first or fill position said ports are in registry with each other and said valve is in the closed position, when said fill cap is in said second or dry position said ports are out of registry with each other and said valve is in the closed position, and when said fill cap is in said third said ports are out of registry and said valve is in the open or steam position with each other position.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 in which said fill cap is funnel-shaped and has an opening arranged in communication with the port in said stationary member and serving to vent the tank to the surrounding atmosphere in all of said positions of the fill cap.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 in which said fill cap has a vertically extending outer wall, said wall having a horizontally extending opening disposed above said stationary member and arranged in registry with said stationary port in all of said positions of the fill cap.

4. A flash type steam iron having a soleplate, a steam generating chamber, means for heating said soleplate and said steam generating chamher, a water tank disposed above said soleplate, a valve movable to a closed position and an open position for controlling flow of water from said water tank to said steam generating chamber for steaming purposes, and means for filling said tank while the iron is resting on said soleplate, said means including a rotatable fill cap disposed above said tank and having a port, a stationary member interposed between said fill cap and said tank and and having a port in communication with the interior of said tank, means including a cam and follower operable by rotation of said fill cap to move said valve to the open position, said fill cap being rotatable to a first (fill) position, a second (dry) position and a third (steam) position, said ports in said fill cap and said stationary member being of such angular extent and being so angularly related to each other and said cam being of such shape and being so angularly related to said follower that, when said fill cap is in said first or fill position said ports are in registry with each other and said valve is in the closed position, when said fill cap is in said second or dry position said ports are out of registry with each other and said valve is in the closed position, and when said fill cap is in said third or steam position said ports are out of registry with each other and said valve is in the open position, and means for venting said tank to the atmosphere, said means including an opening in the side of said fill cap arranged to communicate with the stationary port, said stationary port being arcuate in shape and extending through an angle which is at least as great as the angular movement of said fill cap, said opening thereby being in registry with said stationary port in all of said positions of said fill cap.

5. The structure recited in claim 4 in which said valve has a valve stem extending upwardly through the rotational center of said fill cap, said valve stem being provided with a cover member, said fill cap being funnel-shaped and said cover member being disposed below the upper edge of the same, said cam being carried by said fill cap and said follower being carried by said cover member.

SAMUEL R. BRICKER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

